Jeffrey Moy
In the article, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception” by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer,” the authors critiques the culture industry in different areas. For my blog, I decided to focus on how the culture industry affects consumers through advertising. Advertising is a form of communication that can be seen in the media, billboards, newspapers, and magazines. Companies advertise their products in order to persuade the consumer to buy the product, whether they need it or don’t need it. In my analysis, I will discuss how the culture industry uses advertisement to induce consumers like me and my mom to purchase a product even though we didn’t need it. While clothing is a necessity, companies advertise clothing to have special features that may prove beneficial to the wearer. For example, I was watching television and I saw an Under Armour commercial advertising cold gear sweatshirts. While the sweatshirt seemed like any ordinary sweatshirt, the commercial stated that the sweatshirt has a signature moisture transport system that wicks sweat away from the body, traps heat, and is water resistant. Since I run frequently and the weather was getting cold, I decided to go out and purchase one. While I still enjoy wearing this product today, I didn’t actually need it. While this sweatshirt has distinct features, its main function was to keep me warm and that is what my other sweatshirts already do. Although the Under Armour sweatshirt was water resistant, I could have just wore a regular sweatshirt and a water resistant rain jacket over it. However, the idea of it being a two in one(sweatshirt and rain resistant) compelled me to make the purchase due to it’s versatility. On the other hand, my mom had a similar case for a kitchen appliance. Like me, she was watching television and came across the magic bullet blender. In the commercial, someone was showing the audience how fast and easy it was to use the magic bullet. All you had to do was put some ingredients in a cup that you wanted to blend, twist on the blade, and put it in the machine. In a matter of seconds, your product will be completely cut up; faster and safer than using a knife. Not only that, the magic bullet is the size of a coffee mug and has the job of a blender, food processor, knife and cutting board, juicer, and hand mixer. With all the benefits listed and shown in the video, it was enough persuasion to get my mom off the coach and to the computer to order one. When the magic bullet came, she put the magic bullet where the blender and food processor was and later told me to put those appliances in the basement. While she enjoys using the magic bullet, I think that the purchase was unnecessary. Though the magic bullet is a convenient appliance to use, our previous appliances would have got the job done. But due to the simplicity, easy to clean, versatility, and size of the appliance, persuaded my mom use the magic bullet over the other appliances. In all, these two examples are prime reasons how the culture industry is controlling from advertising. Companies advertise their products in a specific way to display how their products are better than what you already have or don't have, but need to get. While the advertised product may have one distinct feature more than what you already have, the advertisement persuades our false needs and induces us to purchase their product to be up to date in society when we could just wait till a significant difference till our next purchase. Roxana Dubon “concern with the potentialities of man and with the individual’s freedom, happiness and rights . . . [F]reedom here means a real potentiality, a social relationship on whose realization human destiny depends Education the Road Block to Success Education opens countless doors and gives you the ability to interact with different people, to learn different perspectives, and to have solid opinions. In this society, do individuals have the power in their own hands to succeed? Education itself is a system that is lead by the government, an institution that individuals believe is the path to success. What happens when that very system is the one detaining people from fully achieving their true potential? Education is that very system which infringes on the future, not of everyone, just those who it determines “unworthy” of being educated in order to succeed. The following is an examination of how education achieves inequality. Conflict theorists have argued that education maintains social inequality. In the video Waiting for Superman, “tracking” is a system used to sort people into different occupations, it turn supplying society with a workforce. Schools are still sorting our children, schools haven’t changed. Conflict theorists argue that schools work to train the working class to accept their position as a member of the lower class. In addition to [A reading, writing and mathematics, students learn obedience, competition and patriotism subjects that are never declared by the schools. (Basirico,Cashion, and Eshleman p. 373) Education works to maintain and preserve the power of those who already dominate society. Conflict theorists do not see education as a social benefit or as an institution of opportunity. Studies have shown that the number of years a student goes to school results in an attainment of a better occupation. Employers are selecting their employees by their education; even less skilled jobs are requiring degrees. Employers don’t only hire people based on their degree, but they also prefer to employ a person who has attended an “Ivy League” school, and who has an educational background in those schools considered elite (private and prep schools). When examining this belief it seems evident that there is a connection between education and an individual’s social mobility. Schools are as segregated as neighborhoods are. Hispanic and African-Americas live in the inner city going to schools that are likely to be predominantly of that race. Hispanic and African-Americans statistically finish fewer years of school compared to other races. Lower-class students do not learn reading and writing as efficiently as those of a higher class background, making those students feel incompetent. Their motivation is lost and they become alienated from society. So when the number of years of education determines success, students who don’t continue school are likely to fail. The educational institution is failing our children. Schools in different neighborhoods are held to different standards. Some schools are providing students with a good education and others are providing a not-so-good education. Teachers, the very people who educate students can become professionals that are influenced by stereotypes, and their views and behaviors can change towards the student. Tenure has protected these teachers because regardless of their performance, tenure protects them from being fired. Teachers can kick back, fail our children, and still collect a paycheck. There has to be a reformation in the educational system. Where do we start? How about teachers are taken off tenure and those who do not have a drive to educate and push students forward are fired. Students are the future. Education is not a commodity, it is what as humans keeps the mind working, interaction intact, and helps individual grow not just as individuals but the society. The future doesn’t just depend on one individual or on this generation but it also depends on those who will learn how to make this world better place for the future. Rosemarie Dominguez Soc 385 Critical Theory Work, Buy, Consume and Die Critical theory is the theory that stresses the examination of critiquing society and its culture by using social sciences and humanities. Critical theory can be seen as an umbrella term because of the many terms that fall underneath it, such as literal criticism, which is interpreting literature of the social context. Max Horkheimer came up with this idea of critique; meaning to critique is to analyze the everyday things within society. By exploring the circumstances people are able to liberate themselves from the very things that enslave them. By examining and critiquing modern society, individuals are able to analyze and change society and its culture. He uses the term praxis to define the use of practical knowledge and in order to do so; you must turn knowledge into practice. By being able to think critically we build a sense of consciousness and thus, creating a sense of liberation from systems of oppression. Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno’s article titled, The Culture Industry: Enlighten as Mass Deception, talks about the cultural aspect of society, such as media, news, and film and how it manipulates society to become passive in many situations and circumstances. The cultural industry can be seen dangerous because it creates false psychological needs and teaches individuals to consume. We live in a capitalistic society in which people are taught to consume and consume, from mass-produced companies. Going back to the concept of critical theory in order to combat false needs and find true psychological needs, society needs to have genuine happiness, creativity and freedom. Similar to Horkheimer’s theory, Herbert Marcuse builds a concept of transforming “material circumstances of life.” Marcuse then connects materialism to social theory. He then mentions phantasy and how it has a philosophical connection with imagination. However, phantasy creates this dualism of what is ideal and what is not or dualistic constraints of consciousness and unconsciousness, or even the difference between want and need. Referencing back to how society is taught to consume with the aid of media and advertisements, people’s lifestyles are starting to change to become almost robotic. Comsumerization creates a sense of mechanicalization. The more money we make, the more we want to buy stuff, the more we consume, the more we want more, and thus we create this unhealthy ongoing cycle of consumerism. We are no longer thinking when we shop, because we buy and then have that doubt or regret once the card has been swiped (compulsive shoppers). When people consume, most of the time they do not buy for personal needs, but because they desire it. Now shopping is no longer becoming an activity where individuals are able to socialize with one another but rather isolate themselves, thanks to online shopping. Products then become just objects and no longer have an appreciation. People are losing that connection and no longer having relationships with other individuals, but building relationships with objects. The false reality of it is, is that we buy to fulfill happiness or so we think. The more we buy the happier we get, however it is the opposite. Once we made our dream purchase(s) our happiness declines over time. We are not only aware of these systematic forms of oppression, but we continue to give in, because the cultural industry manipulates consumers. We end up becoming trapped because we choose not to break way form these fabrications of false needs. We can distinguish between want and need, but we choose not to change our mentality because of the fact that by consuming we satisfy our need for that moment until we get the urge again to want the latest new thing. Apple’s Grip on Mankind Apple owns people. Not the delicious fruit, but the industry leading electronics corporation. It has such a fan base, and loyal customers that no matter what they do, they can win out the competition. They have such a select few devices that only work with the other devices they make, that it has created a false need in people to get these things. They claim that when they come out with a new product that it is just “the best available”, or so much better than the one before. People believe this and wait in lines for the new products. Every time Apple releases something new, there will be a line. It is seen almost as a status system to be in possession of these amazing products. Apple products are seen almost as a status symbol. If you have a mac, iPod, iPhone, or any of their numerous iProducts you are seen as cool. They are also a symbol for having money, as they are so pricey you should be in a higher class. Even when people believe that Apple products aren’t the best, some still buy them just to stay “cool” or just to be brand specific. Apple doesn’t make it easy to transfer your old data over from mac products to keep you drawn in. Even when there are other products that do the same exact things, people still continue to buy into the fact that Apple is better than others. This is what Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer were saying in The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. People are obedient in what the mass media sells them. When things like new macbooks come out, they buy it, even if it’s just about the same as the last. Apple offers such similar products, it makes the market for what their consumers can buy very slim. This isn’t just in their products, but their software as well. When first starting off with their iPod line, Apple’s iPod could only work with the mas operating system. So either you owned a mac when buying an iPod, or you bought a mac along with it. Since then they’ve switched their ideas to somewhat more mainstream, but still monopolize some parts of the industry, by keeping things apple specific. All of the charging cords for their products are specific to the Apple brand, and only work with apple products, no other computer can use a macbook charging cord. Also, the docking cable for the iPod and iPhone have been introduced into society as one of the most universally used cables in society. When buying speakers or mostly any other type of device, from remote helicopters to cameras, it will always be compatible with Apple’s iPod and iPhone. They dominate that field, by mostly not letting any other smartphone get in the way of their brand. Apple is a perfect industry mogul to show what was meant in The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. As Adorno and Horkheimer said, they have some of today’s most standardized products. Such a restricted variety of things to choose from that when a new one comes out, people are forced to upgrade through the small path. As suggested in the reading, it creates false needs for people, as there is other technology out there that does the same thing, but Apple still has people that have to have their technology and wait in long lines to have their products. All they care about is moving their product, not about the people that buy it. "Consumers appear as statistics on research organization charts, and are divided by income groups into red, green, and blue areas; the technique is that used for any type of propaganda." (p.2) They have such a backing that when they put out new products that people almost robotically buy the new ones off the shelves, without even thinking. The reading suggested that companies like Apple create obedience in their followers, which tends to be the trend nowadays. This is just one of the many places that do this in society today. With today’s culture, big companies are seen as the driving force behind society, and can form it to what they want. People will comply with the things that are being spit out, even if they don’t believe in it themselves. Jimmy Kimmel believes in this as well. Everything that apple produces is pretty much the same, just labeled and packaged differently. It's just the Arauz_Blog7
In The Culture Industry Adorno and Horkheimer argue that, “culture now impresses the same stamp on everything.” (1) They go further into this argument by giving an example on how trends in culture all revolve around the same ideas, “As soon as the film begins, it is clear how it will end, and who will be rewarded, punished, or forgotten. In light music, once the trained ear has heard the first notes of the hit song, it can guess what is coming and feel flattered when it does come.” (3) To go further into what Adorno and Horkheimer argue, I will be using a couple of popular songs on the radio to help explain how culture sets off the same trends through media. I argue that the majority of music, especially rap, mostly talk about money, drugs, and/or women in degrading ways. First, I used the song “I Luv Dem Strippers” by 2 Chainz where lyrics revolved around the following: Money “When I’m in kitchen, I make plenty cash” Drugs “Every line is dope, you can snort it” Women “Tell shawty come here, she got plenty ass” Next, I used the song “Bandz A Make Her Dance” by Juicy J Money “Like a broke atm I'm a spillin all this cash” Drugs “20 stacks in one night, I be on trippy shit” Women “She start twerking when she hear a song, the stripper pole her income” “She put that ass off in my hands, I remote control it” Last, I used the song “Pop That” by French Montana. Money “Ballin’, ballin’, like I play for New England” “Spend it, spend it, spend a stack every minute” Drugs “We pop a molly, she buss it open” Women “She got a big booty so I call her Big Booty” “2 for me, 2 for you Feed them bitches carrots Fuck ‘em like a rabbit Sorry thats a habit” There are many other songs that I could have included lyrics to just to give an example of how certain trends are constantly implemented in today’s music. However, as you can see, from just three popular songs in the radio, I was able to easily find lyrics that pertained to all three (money, drugs, women). Money is usually rapped about in terms of amount and how money is usually spent on drugs and is thrown “in the air” because they have such an excessive amount. Drugs are usually rapped about in terms of having so much money that they also have an excessive amount of money to go toward drugs to live the life of a celebrity. Women are usually placed in the same category as money and drugs, just another object to make men happy. Something I found interesting is that two of these songs mentioned “Al Capone” and “The Godfather” in terms of looking up to them. If there are rappers looking up to their lifestyles, then of course they’re going to want to live a life filled with women, drugs, money, and violence. By repetitively enforcing these ideas in the media, the audience slowly accepts the concepts that are being portrayed and therefore act on those ideas in their everyday life. On a final note, Adorno and Horkheimer also argue that in films with sound, the individual gets lost in the storyline of the movie and therefore loses any form of imagination and becomes a part of the film—which they then turn into reality in forms of their lifestyle. (4) The same can be argued when it comes to the music industry. These lyrics give off ideas to individuals on how it is “expected” for women to act and how to treat them, that blowing off money for drugs will make you carry an “ordinary” lifestyle and attract women, and that drugs will make the ride worthwhile. The beats of music, which is a reason why most people listen to rap music, distract us all from the real content in the music but also make us “okay” with the idea that these lyrics are used in this type of music for the only reason that it has a “good beat”. The culture industry creates and sells highly standardized and homogenized goods through the media. The media, which has a brilliant way of persuading consumers to buy products that they don’t need, shows thousands of advertisements on television twenty four hours a day, whether it is good or bad for the consumer. Consumers, who for the most part, can see exactly what the media is doing, are still persuaded. Media is able to persuade people into buying products; they do not need, by convincing consumers that they do need them. Certain examples would be the different types of cell phones, gym shoes, cars, etc. First, let us start with the different types of cellular devices. Every year, new phones come and every new phone that comes out are claimed to be better than the rest. Certain brand name phones such as the Iphone, HTC, Samsung etc., all do this. I have a friend, who just purchased the HTC X one, a few months ago, but now he is trying to get a new phone because now he hears how the Samsung Galaxy S3 is better. There is nothing wrong with his phone, not a scratch or any type of mechanical defects. However, he wants to get a brand new phone, more than likely, because of the things he has heard and because the media has pumped up the Samsung phone through advertisements. This creates false needs in the consumer, thinking that they have to get the newest, hot thing because society says so. Both phones can do the same things, which are texting, internet, and calling people, however, the new phone may come with a few new features. The next thing would be gym shoes, however, I am not talking about just any type of gym shoes; I am talking about Jordans. For years, consumers keep buying Jordans repeatedly has if they are new. If you ever decide to go to a Footlocker or Nike Town store on a Jordan release day, you will see a long line that goes past a few blocks. This is not the only thing, because usually these shoes can run from about a hundred dollars to three or four hundred dollars. Why do people feel the need to buy these shoes over and over again? Well it is because of the false need they feel to have these shoes, which accomplish the basic needs that any other shoe would. The culture industry is manipulative and does this with the use of media. People fall for it every time, and I must admit, even I do from time to time. We see right through it, yet we still choose to be victimized by the media. Of course, this does have consequences for consumer, by spending our money on useless objects and on things that we could wait to get later. We choose to get items that are highly publicized to fulfill our false needs and sometimes people put these false needs above real needs (necessities). The culture industry manipulates us by clouding our judgment and creates a sense of loyalty from us, which helps to keep the cycle to keep going. Erika,
Good blog! I think it is ironic how as consumers we know this is being done to us and that we actually buy into it. There are some people who just live getting new phone and having that new phone just makes their lives better. It's crazy that as human we even depend on them so much considering fifteen years ago they were non-existent. Jordans are a huge thing but a tleast those unlike phones go up in value, depending on their condition of course. Dubon John Leverso Blog 7 Domination in the legal system Critical theory also known as the Frankfort school of thought evolved in the 1930s in Germany. Critical theory is an examination and critique of society in general. It draws from a variety of knowledge basis e.g. social sciences humanities, etc. Conflict theory’s main goal is to transform society and culture by eliminating domination. Furthermore, its goal is to bring conscience awareness to exploitation and this in turn will create a sense of liberation. In this blog I will analyze critical theory in regards to race, controlled substance jail terms, specifically, cocaine and the legal system. I will argue that the doling out ofpunishment is dominated by the white race and this domination is apparent inthe differences in the sentencing criteria of two types of the same drug, cocaine. In addition I will compare arrest rates of different ethnic groups. Cocaine, critical theory, and domination are related by white domination over other ethnic groups in the legal systemspecifically in regards to drug use and sentencing. There are two forms of cocaine that are bought and sold illegally, powder cocaine and crack cocaine. Powder cocaine is mainly abused by white people and crack cocaine is mainly abused byAfrican Americans. Both are derived from the coco plant, but until recently the sentencing guidelines were more than double for crack than for powder cocaine. This huge sentencing disparity is due to the fact that powder cocaine is a drug for white America and white America makes the laws. The domination of the white race in the legal system makes these disparities a reality. People in predominately African American neighborhoods are targeted more than people in predominately white neighbor hoods. Critical theorist would argue this is a form of racial domination because those with the power use the power to lessen the punishment of a predominantly white drug and increase the punishment for a predominantly African American drug. Fortunately, new laws have decreased the level of sentencing disparity among drug convictions. In 2010 the penalties for crack cocaine were significantly reduced bringing sentencing guidelines closer for the two drugs. I argue that while this is a good start the legal system is still dominated by the white race. While the sentencing guidelines are now similar the arrest rate disparity is growing. From 1970 to the present the drug arrest rate for whites has risen from 3.5 to 4.5 per 1000 people while drug arrest rates for African Americans has risen from 6.5 to 2.91 per 1000 ( see references). This is a huge disparity! This gives credence to my argument that domination still exists. Sentencing disparities have been reduced but domination still exists. In order to end this domination I propose to stop targeting people based on race or ethnic back ground and stop racial profiling. Until this happens the legal system will be dominated by the white race and liberation of society that critical theorists seek will never be found. Our legal system is flawed and needs to be fixed in order to get to the level of perfection that critical theorists seek. 1. PDF] Crack Cocaine Impact Analysis - May 20, 2011 - United States ...http://www.ussc.gov/Research/Retroactivity_Analyses/Fair_Sentencing_Act/20110520_Crack_Retroactivity_Analysis.pdf Race Drugs and Policing,understanding disparities in drug deliveries and arresthttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2006.00044.x/pdf Gabriela Baltazar
Blog: Critical Theory Marcuse Article In “Philosophy and Critical Theory” Herbert Marcuse discusses Critical theory in the context of “man’s freedom, the real role of phantasy, and the why reason alone is not the answer.” Marcuse gives us the background of critical theory and how it is applied to these concepts. First, when Marcuse discusses man’s freedom he makes the claim that, philosophy is the building block of theory and materialist theory. He states that to explain the totality of man and his world in terms of his social being. There fore, what a man defines his self worth determines what he can contribute to society. Marcuse also depicts critical theory as human freedom and that it offers a critique of contemporary and social conditions. Two elements Marcuse incorporates link materialism to social theory. First, he states that he is concerned with human happiness, and applies materialism to it. Second, conviction that it can be attained through transformation of the material conditions of existence. from these two elements we can make the connection that Marcuse collaborates human happiness being fulfilled with materialistic items rather than idealistic happiness. Man’s freedom however is also connected through the power of knowledge. Many times throughout the reading Marcuse associates freedom with knowledge. The individual can be the judge of everything with his own power of knowledge. Second, Marcuse discusses the real role of phantasy. Marcuse defines phantasy as a philosophical connection through which imagination is required. Phantasy is to create something new out of a given material of cognition. Through Phantasy, imagination denotes freedom in a world that ideally is not free. I see Phantasy as an unclear reality. But without phantasy all philosophical knowledge remains, as Marcuse claims, in the grip of the present or the past and served from the future. There fore, phantasy is not something that is concrete, it is cognitively planned. Lastly, reason alone is not the answer for several reasons. First, Marcuse states that reason is a philosophical thought. “It represents the highest potentiality of man and of existence” (358). Most of the time we see reason as accorded with a status of substance. In addition to this, Marcuse states, “something is authentic when it is self-reliant, can preserve itself and is not dependent on anything else” (359). More over, reason is supposed to create universality and community. Reason creates a space that brings things together as a whole and works around the communal issues. Freedom and reason in my opinion can work together. As we see freedom is applied in the sense of materialism, where individuals/ man finds pleasure or perhaps power as well. Reason indicates the status of this power and the reasoning of why man feels more authentic with a material object. The structure of reality can be defined by the social framework of economic conditions. Today, we can apply this to a fancy gadget such as the iPhone. People feel powerful obtaining this object because of the many things it can do. However, this can create a false status. Someone who is not typically wealthy can perceive themselves as wealthy because they own something with a lot of worth and status behind this object. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2014
Categories |